The inventors disclosed earlier in U.S. Ser. No. 61/907,463 filed Nov. 22, 2013, a new type of copolymer, namely poly(phenylene ether) and polyolefin copolymer. However, the composition and method disclosed in that application can hardly be applied with polyamide, which represents a much bigger Engineering Thermoplastic (ETP) market. Polyolefin and polyamide are immiscible and difficult to be compatibilized. A polyolefin-polyamide copolymer or well compatibilized polyolefin-polyamide blend can provide both good properties and processability, combining the advantages derived from either polyolefin or polyamide.
A common method in the prior art is to utilize maleated polyolefins and react the amine chain end of polyamides with the anhydride functional groups along the polyolefin chains, to produce graft copolymers. The composition, structure and morphology of the graft copolymers made by this method are often poorly defined, resulting in compromised properties. We disclose here an improved means of coupling common polyamides such as Nylon with a polyolefin.